Getting the velocity dialed in on the Noire is a bit more challenging compared to some other VI software I’ve used. Purchasing Kontakt 6 helped by revealing the 22 velocity layers (zones in Kontakt nomenclature) and helping me to see the velocity mapping more accurately. From there I was able to see what zones are being activated at different key velocities. I’ve never seen which layers (zones) were being activated in software before, so that’s pretty cool. Still the entire process is a bit cumbersome.

Each zone is assigned a range of velocities and both the input and output of every keypress (based on the zones) is identified. Combine that with the Kontakt velocity curve editor and you can really see what’s going on.
The NOIRE software gives some options to change the velocity input/output across the entire range, e.g., softest, softer, soft, linear, hard, harder, hardest. They even have some custom ones for their Kontrol keyboards.
Linear is the default setting which is even i.e., 50 input/50 output. Currently, I’m working with “Hard” which bumps the velocity output by approximately 10 or two zones. However, even then my N1X in the default touch setting comes up a bit short of the 22 zones. So I use the Kontakt velocity curve editor to increase even more the higher velocities to get me to the last few zones.

It really takes a lot of experimenting and playing, but I know that once it’s dialed in it’s going to be a great piano. It has power with the ability to sound warm and intimate. So far I’m liking it better than my VSL stuff. Here is an excerpt from a hymn I’m arranging called, “Can you hear the Savior calling?”
https://youtu.be/DFt4RwBmz-E
God Bless,
David